The holy youth Martyr Gabriel was born in 1684 in the village of Zverka, Zabludov diocese, to a pious peasant couple, Peter and Anastasia Govdel. He was baptized in the Dormition church of the Zabludov monastery and received the name Gabriel in honor of the Archangel.
Besides the meekness and
guilelessness normally found in children, the young Gabriel was marked by
characteristics uncommon to his age. He had, for example, a reflective nature
and a mature perception of the action of Divine Providence in people's lives.
It is not surprising that he inclined more towards prayer and solitude than
towards the amusements which occupied his peers.
In 1690 tragedy visited the
GovdeI family. One day the unsuspecting mother, leaving the six-year old
Gabriel alone in the house, took some food to his father who was out plowing
the fields. While she was gone a local tenant came to the house. Taking
advantage of the parents' absence and the child's trusting nature, he kidnapped
the boy.
Gabriel was taken secretly to
the town of Bialystok and given over to sadistic torture. His side was pierced
and a special instrument was inserted which gradually drained his blood. After
nine days of such treatment the boy died. Desiring to conceal such a vile deed,
the murderer secretly took the body and threw it onto the edge of a field near
some woods in the vicinity of the boy's home village.
The holy Feast of Pascha
approached. Hungry dogs began gathering around the lifeless body, predatory
birds circled overhead. Miraculously the body remained untouched. Not only did
the dogs refrain from devouring it, they even guarded it against the birds.
The body of the young
martyr was eventually discovered and taken to Zabludov. An investigation
brought to light the particulars of the crime which was duly entered in the
town records. With the participation of many local inhabitants, deeply shaken
by the committed atrocity, the body of the martyr Gabriel was laid to rest near
the cemetery church. There it remained for close to thirty years.
Early in the 18th
century, the whole territory surrounding Bialystok was seized by an epidemic.
Thousands fell victim to the disease and crowded the cemeteries. Many children
from the neighborhood of Zvevka and Zabludov were buried near the grave of the
child-martyr Gabriel whom many revered on account of his innocent suffering and
martyric death. Many sensed an abundance of grace present at his grave.
In 1794 a fire destroyed the
church but, miraculously, the relics were spared. Only a portion of one hand
was partially burned and this, undoubtedly, in accordance with God's Providence
for the sake of strengthening faith and piety among the Orthodox people, for
when the holy relics were subsequently transferred to the Zabludov monastery,
the injured hand was supernaturally restored; it was found to be newly covered
with skin.
The living memory of the
child-martyr, the honor accorded him, and the desire to promote his veneration
inspired the building of a church on the site of his grave. On the day of Holy
Pascha 1894, took place the festive consecration of the church. Sadly, only
eight years later this church also burned. But on this occasion likewise there
occurred a miracle. Although the church was completely destroyed, the icon of
its heavenly patron, child-martyr Gabriel, was preserved unharmed.
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